Automatic Rifleman
Automatic Rifleman Requirements: PFC (1,000 XP Enlisted) The Automatic Rifleman provides fire support through the tactical use of his machine gun. ARs are an important part of a squad, providing the base of fire to allow his squad the breathing room to maneuver. 'Introduction' The Automatic Rifleman is a support role for the squad whose primary purpose is to deal damage and kill enemies. His primary weapon is a machine gun with a 100-round magazine. It is a fairly straight-forward role that can be quite powerful due to large magazines and high rate of fire capability. He has Soldier Skills and Marskmanship identical to a rifleman, but replaces the grenade and flare abilities with Belt Linking, Suppressive Fire, and Incendiary Rounds. Skills Breakdown Soldier Skills - Each point increases Fitness, Dexterity, and Mechanical skills by 2, reduces reload and unjam time by 15%, and unlocks abilities. Level 1 - Self-Aid - Heals 35hp over 10 seconds. Costs 55 energy. Level 2 - MOS-Specific ability - Improved Burst Level 3 - +.1 Movement Speed and Improved Prone (+13% damage, +8% attack speed, +1 range) Level 4 - Rifle Butt - Damages and knocks back close-range light enemies Marksmanship - Provides 12% critical shot chance. Each level increases dexterity by 4, range by 1, and critical shot damage. Level 1: 2x damage Level 2: 3x damage Level 3: 4x damage Level 4: 5x damage Supressive Fire '''- Increases fire rate at the cost of movement speed. Costs Energy to activate and consumes Energy while active. Each level increases fire rate and improves movement speed, and decreases energy cost. Lasts 8 seconds, cooldown is 9 seconds. Level 1 - 1.5x Fire Rate, 40 Energy Level 2 - 2x Fire Rate, 35 Energy Level 3 - 2.5x Fire Rate, 30 Energy Level 4 - 3x Fire Rate, 25 Energy '''Belt Linking - Increases magazine size. Will use extra readied magazines per reload. Also gives abiltity to add rounds to current magazine without reloading. Level 1 - Mag size 200 Level 2 - Mag size 300 Level 3 - Mag size 400 Incendiary Rounds - Increases damage and burns the target, dealing damage over time and slowing them for a few seconds. While active each shot fired consumes energy. Each level increases damage and enemy speed reduction. Recommended Equipment M241 MMG - '''Good for damage focus, also increases range and decreases movement speed '''M41 SAW - '''Good for fire rate focus, increases movement speed and burst rate '''Aim Assistant - Great DPS increase Ammo Case - ARs will go through a lot of magazines very quickly, spares are essential Recommended Builds 'DPS' Gunner Build Order - Belt Linking 1 > Marksmanship 2 > Suppressive Fire 2 > Marksmanship 4 > Belt Linking 2 > Suppressive Fire 4 > Belt Linking 3 Start with Belt Linking to minimize reloads, then start building up Marksmanship and Suppressive Fire for damage. Recommendations: -SIs - Reactive Fire '''and '''Instructor -Items - M41 SAW, Aim Assistant, Ammo Case, M135 Minigun (Chapter 3 only) This build maximizes DPS from fire rate and Critical shots. The AR has great potential damage from Marksmanship because of the large magazines, allowing for multiple rapid critical hits on a target. Reactive Fire and Instructor add to DPS, and will keep unjam and reload times down as well. Role: Straight up damage-dealer. The AR's job is to kill enemies. Provide cover for teammates doing missions or kiting bosses, and post up on defense when necessary. 'Incendiary Gunner' Build Order - Incendiary 1 > Belt Linking 1 > Soldier Skills 3 > Incendiary 4 > Suppressive Fire or Belt Linking as desired Grab and activate Incendiary Rounds first, then get Belt Linking to minimize reloads and Soldier Skills and max Incendiary for well-rounded damage capability. Recommendations: ''' -SIs - '''Reactive Fire '''and '''Energetic -Items - M241 MMG, Aim Assistant, Ammo Case This variation of the AR focusees on damage-per-shot instead of rate of fire DPS. He should go prone often to maximize his damage and range, aided by the MMG, AA, and Reactive Fire. Incediary rounds consume energy per shot rather than over time, so while out of combat Energetic provides enough regeneration, along with the Mechanical boosts from Soldier Skills. Soldier Skills will boost just about everything else as well. Role: Generally the same as the DPS Gunner, but a bit less mobile. He should stick near teammates and keep an eye on his map to avoid becoming vulnerable to when prone. Optional Items: Energy Cells would be good to have as a reserve in the later game as energy use increases. DU Rounds, only found in late game, provide a 40% damage increase against Armored enemies, which would be very useful for bosses.